Here’s What Parents Are Paying For Babysitters In The U.S., According To UrbanSitter

“How much should I pay the babysitter” is a common question among parents. And among grandparents, who often remember what they paid in the 80s and therefore can’t imagine paying over $10 an hour for babysitting. Now UrbanSitter has put together a list of what parents are paying for babysitters in every state, and it’s super useful information.

The babysitter- and nanny-finding site surveyed 20,000 parents from around the country to figure out what parents were paying for babysitters in every state. The average rate for a babysitter in the U.S. is $15.20 per hour for one child. But prices vary by location.

Babysitter prices vary by location.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most expensive city was San Francisco. The average babysitter rate there is $17.34/hour for one child. (Childcare expenses vary wildly by area, and by individual family. Earlier this year a San Francisco couple posted an ad for a Mandarin-speaking nanny, and the job paid $130,000 a year and came with full health benefits. At the time, rumors abounded that the parents were Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan.)

Elsewhere in California, Los Angeles parents pay an average of $15.62 per hour for one child. The average babysitter rate in San Diego is $12.81/hour for one child.

The second most expensive city for babysitting is New York. The average rate there is $16.89 per hour for one child.

The least expensive city for babysitting is Denver, where babysitters make an average of $12.22 per hour for one child. In Chicago, the average is $13.94 for one child. In Washington, D.C, the average rate is $15.51 per hour for one child.

Parents pay more for nannies than for babysitters, but not by a whole lot. Babysitters on average make $15.20 per hour for one child, while nannies average $16.45 per hour for one child. Nannies seem to be more in-demand lately, and UrbanSitter notes that nanny rates have gone up 10 percent since last year.

Here’s what people are paying their nannies.

We do hear a lot about nannies making over $100,000 a year, but those jobs are an extreme minority.

Nearly half the parents surveyed said they spend more than $1,000 a year on babysitters. But 68 percent of parents surveyed said that life would be a lot harder without trusted childcare. Babysitters watch our kids and keep them safe while we’re away, and if anything deserves a good wage, it’s that.